Unique Program Protects Workers’ Health

Employee downtime costs money. Time away from the job, from hours to days, spent on everything from employee flu shots to CPR certification, means money lost. That’s where the health department’s Healthy Workplace Program proves invaluable. This innovative service provides a unique link between public health and private industry. And Lee County’s business community has embraced it enthusiastically. "It’s proven to be both convenient and a money saver for us," says Lynn Cheever, Human Resources Coordinator for Robb and Stuckey.

On any given day – often before dawn – Debra Gary can be seen leaving the Lee County Health Department in her white Ford Taurus, off on another round of helping county businesses. Gary, a Registered Nurse with a Masters in Nursing and fifteen years of nursing experience, began the service based on a perceived community need. "We noticed that many people had to travel to the health department when they first got a job, for services such as pre-employment physicals, TB skin tests, etc. And many employees need annual recertifications in their fields," she explains. Adds Dr. Judith Hartner, Lee County Health Department director, "The Healthy Workplace program is a time and money saver for both workers and employers. It’s unique and it’s flexible – we schedule for individual company needs. Offerings can be as sinple as annual flu shots, or as diverse as hepatitis B shots or trainings to meet OSHA requirements."

Five years after its inception, the program’s client list reads like the local Yellow Pages, with over three hundred businesses and government agencies, ranging from John Scanlon Lincoln Mercury to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to Boarers Landing and Home Depot, using the service.

John Baker of Parkway Physical Therapy is enthusiastic about Healthy Workplace. "It’s an ideal service for us. An employee tb (tuberculosis) screening now costs us two minutes downtime instead of half a day. And there’s no transportation issue, no waiting and no hassle. The difference in productivity is enormous. It’s a great money saver for our business."

Unknown to much of the public, many businesses have mandatory, often annual, certifications, classes and trainings that employees must attend to. Among others, these include CPR training, general first aid, HIV/AIDS classes, OSHA standards updating and Body Piercing Licensure training. Healthy Workplace offers all of these, and also offers onsite employee immunization and flu shots.

Gary, along with state certified Health Educator Brendan Donohue and staff assistant Fran Smith, are all passionate about their work, treating their program almost as if were an independent business itself. Thanks to this attitude and the business community’s enthusiastic response, Health Workplace has earned over a half million dollars for the Lee County Health Department since its inception.

Employers interested in obtaining more information on Healthy Workplace can call Debra Gary at 656-2546 or visit the Healthy Workplace Program at the Lee County Health Department Website.

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